Last updated: July 19, 2022
Place
Lady Bird Johnson Nature Trail Stop #6
NPS Photo / James Tiffany
Quick Facts
Location:
Lady Bird Johnson Trail
Significance:
Walking tour in old-growth redwoods
Designation:
National Park
Amenities
1 listed
Scenic View/Photo Spot
Towering Patriarchs
Gazing up the immense trunk to the highest reaches of a redwood tree gives us a powerful sense of our own smallness. Capable of ascending to heights over 360 feet, coast redwoods tower over all living things on the planet. Most of its soaring height is gained in its first 100 years. With adequate sunlight, a redwood can grow more than 30 feet in its first 20 years. If shade, drought, or fire does not inhibit its growth, it will grow two to three feet per year, reaching the forest canopy on its 200th birthday.
Once a redwood reaches the canopy and the uppermost foliage is exposed to direct sunlight, strong winds, and lower humidity, its upward growth slows to two to three inches a year. Turning its energy to its core, after 400 years the trunk of an old-growth redwood averages five to seven feet in diameter; at 700 years old, 10-15 foot diameter trunks are possible. Seedlings sprouting today begin their lives next to those born centuries ago.
Gazing up the immense trunk to the highest reaches of a redwood tree gives us a powerful sense of our own smallness. Capable of ascending to heights over 360 feet, coast redwoods tower over all living things on the planet. Most of its soaring height is gained in its first 100 years. With adequate sunlight, a redwood can grow more than 30 feet in its first 20 years. If shade, drought, or fire does not inhibit its growth, it will grow two to three feet per year, reaching the forest canopy on its 200th birthday.
Once a redwood reaches the canopy and the uppermost foliage is exposed to direct sunlight, strong winds, and lower humidity, its upward growth slows to two to three inches a year. Turning its energy to its core, after 400 years the trunk of an old-growth redwood averages five to seven feet in diameter; at 700 years old, 10-15 foot diameter trunks are possible. Seedlings sprouting today begin their lives next to those born centuries ago.